A: It is a law that protects personal privacy and upholds individuals’ rights. The Data Protection Act 2018 affects everyone who handles or has access to personal information about individuals. The Act also gives rights to the people that the information is about. By law, everyone in the workplace must follow the rules set out in the Act and help to protect individuals’ rights.

A: The Act makes sure the information held on computer-based systems and in paper-based records is managed properly. We must protect personal information by following the principles of the Data Protection Act 2018, which are the rules for good information handling. In summary:

• lawful, fair and transparent
• purpose limitation
• data minimisation
• accuracy
• storage limitation
• integrity and confidentiality
• accountability

A: Personal data is information about a ‘living’ person. For example, it can be a name, address, telephone number, date of birth or National Insurance number or other information that identifies a customer.

For examples of personal data that can be held by Clanmil about you during your tenancy click here  Personal or sensitive information should always be kept secure, whether on paper or in electronically held records.

A: The Data Protection Act allows individuals to see information held about them. In particular, it provides the following rights:

• the right to be informed
• the right of access
• the right to rectification
• the right to erasure
• the right to restrict processing
• the right to data portability
• the right to object
• rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling.